Base-ball bat.



No.796,1 84. v PATENTED AUG.1,1905. I H. BROWN.

BASE BALL BAT.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 18, 1903.

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imrrnn STATES PATENT orrion.

HORACE- BROWN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO A. G. SPALDINGr & BROS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BASE-BALL BAT.-

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed ma 13, 1903. Serial No. 166,890.

Patented Aug. 1, 1905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, county of Cook, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Base-Ball Bats, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof. v

This invention relates to base-ball bats; and its object is to provide a bat that shall be properly balanced, and therefore easier for a player to manipulate. Heretofore players in order to obtain the desired balance upon a bat with which they are about to strike a ball have had to grasp the same at i a point some distance from the handle end, this point having as a rule been nearer the middle of the bat than the handle end of the same; but this is an awkward way of using a bat and reduces the effectiveness of .the bat, in that it shortens the amount of the swing and lessens the momentum of the club end, and consequently its driving power.

It is proposed by the present invention to balance a bat in its manufacture in such a way that a player may grasp it at the handle proper and manipulate it with more convenience and effectiveness than he was able to do heretofore by grasping the bat near its mid dle without the use of weights or any material not integral with the material of which the bat isformed.

The object of the invention is attained by so shaping the head or handle end of the bat that there will be at this end, between the 4 handle and the extreme end of the bat, considerably more stock than there has been at this point heretofore in base-ball bats, the

weight of the material thus left at this point being suflicient to properly balance the bat.

The drawing is a perspective view of a bat embodying the invention.

In the bat illustrated in the drawing the club or hitting end a is 'seen' to be relatively large and heavy, as is usual, so that the bat may possess considerable momentum when swung by the player as he is about to strike the ball.. This club 'or hitting end of the bat tapers down toward and forms the handle 5,

which is of a size suitable to be conveniently grasped by the player. Upon the end of the handle portion 6 opposite the club or hitting end a is a knob c, which is formed thereon for 18th day of April, A. D. 1903.

the purpose of giving a proper balance to the bat. It is recognized that bats have generallybeen made heretofore with their handle ends formed slightly larger in diameter than the handle proper; but in all such cases, so far as it is known, this widening at the ends of the bat has been carried to no appreciable extent. It has merely existed at the very end and apparently for the only purpose of giving a finish to the bat. In accordance with the present invention this knob head or end 0 is made relatively thick and heavy as compared with the handle 6 in order thereby to load or add weight to the extreme end of the handle. For this purpose 'the bat, as in the drawing, which may be entirely of wood, is provided with the knob 0, formed integral with the rest of the bat by turning the same upon the handle end orin any other suitable manner.

The dimensions of the knob or head a will be determined separately for each particular case, depending upon the shape and construction of the club and handle of the bat, for upon these structural features, 'as'will be obvious, the extent of the balance to be provided for the bat will dependthat is, will be greater or smaller, according as the club is or is not very heavy as compared with the handle. The shape of the; knob c may be varied, the preferred shape, however, being that of an elongated cylinder rounded at its ends.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is '1. In a base-ball bat the combination of a relatively small handle, a relatively large club portion tapering toward the handle, and a knob on the end of the handle opposite the club portion, of such size and weight as to balance the club portion to an appreciable extent.

2. In a base-ball bat the combination of a relatively small handle, arelatively large club 

